


Summer Sweetheart (Spare a Little Love for Me)

by farquaad



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: 2009 Era (Phandom), Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Bullied Dan Howell, Dan Howell and Phil Lester Are Teenagers, Ice Cream Parlors, Insecure Dan Howell, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, References to Depression, Slow Burn, Summer Romance, Summer Vacation, a little bit of class issues if you squint, he's not bullied by phil tho dw, the year isn't specified exactly but that's what i had in mind when i wrote this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-04-06 05:15:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19055950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/farquaad/pseuds/farquaad
Summary: Anxious for summer break to finally begin, Dan ditches school on his last day. He expects his summer to be boring and uneventful - until it's not.





	1. Prologue/Fic Teaser

Dan couldn’t stand it. He absolutely  _could not_ stand it.

Dan Howell had spent the last three hours going from hot, stuffy room to hot, stuffy room learning absolutely nothing.

It was the last day of school before summer holiday - six glorious weeks of doing absolutely nothing. After that, he only had one more year of school to go. He was so close to freedom from the bear-trap grasp of high school that he literally  _could not stand_ to be in this under-air conditioned, over-crowded school building much longer.

He could feel the thin material of his white button-down shirt sticking to his sweaty skin and he could only hope that his hair wouldn’t begin to curl.

Being it was the last day of school, there wasn’t much planned in any of his classes so Dan had nothing else to do but slowly start to make his way through a dull historical fiction novel he borrowed from the school library earlier. He had to keep wiping his hands on his navy blue trousers so he wouldn’t leave sweaty fingerprints all over the book every time he flipped a page.

Dan glanced at the clock. Only eight minutes left of this class period before he could make his move.

Dan had never skipped school before. He had thought about it but was always too scared about what his parents would do if they found out so he just never did. But today, he thought he could make an exception.

Once he was dismissed from his class, Dan slung his backpack over his shoulder and made his way back toward the library. More sweat started to collect on Dan’s forehead, but this time, the perspiration formed due to his nerves and not the heat of the oncoming season.

Realistically, he knew that his slightly disreputable school probably wouldn’t even notice his absence, but just the thought of breaking the rules sent a bolt of disquiet down Dan’s spine

He found the library easily and slid his book into the return slot. After that, he turned on his heels and made his way toward the exit.

The second Dan pushed open the large metal doors, he felt free. He knew that his six weeks off would fly by and he’d have to go back eventually. But right then, he felt untouchable.

At the very least, Dan was grateful for the cool breeze on his sticky skin. The wind brought with it the sweet smell of budding flowers, a major contrast to the ever-present smell of pencil shavings and teenage B.O. that Dan had become accustomed to over the last several months.

The only problem was that Dan had no plan. He could do whatever he wanted for the rest of the afternoon and yet he had no idea how he wanted to spend his newly gained free time.

He could just go home and play video games, seeing as that was pretty much his only plan for the rest of the summer. But today felt different. It felt special in a way, almost like he should celebrate surviving yet another year of the treacherous hellscape known as high school.

Today might be his only opportunity to spend time outside and not have to worry that one of his classmates might see him.

With that, Dan made up his mind. He was going home to change and then he was going to the swimming pool. Because fuck it, he had nothing to lose.


	2. A New Friend

The whole walk home, Dan had a spring in his step, which he supposed was called for, but it surely wasn’t something the cool emo boys he stalked on MySpace would approve of.

Either way, no one was looking so Dan was free to do whatever he wanted. It was rare for Dan to have moments like these - moments where his mind was unburdened and he felt like he could be himself, even if only for a little while.

Feeling content, Dan approached his house with vigor. The fact that he had just skipped school was finally starting to set in. Of course, his summer wouldn’t be all fun and games. The long grass, well overdue for a mowing, reminded him that he still definitely had chores. On top of that, his mom might even make him get a summer job, something that Dan felt entirely unprepared and underqualified for.

While examining the overgrown grass, Dan noticed a single dandelion growing right where the grass met the driveway. He sighed, knowing he could add weeding to his list of summer chores.

But instead of just walking into his pale green house like he usually would do, Dan crouched down lower to get a closer look at the dandelion. It was quite pretty, even if it was a weed. It was bright and yellow just like a sunflower, except it lacked the hairy stem and monstrous leaves.

Acting on a sudden compulsion, Dan picked the sunflower from the stem. It might look pretty if he stuck it behind his ear, a splash of color amongst his flattened brown hair, he thought as he twirled the small weed between his fingers.

Dan shook his head at himself. What a ridiculous thought. He’s not gay, why would he do that? Dan abruptly dropped the limp flower onto the pavement of his driveway and stepped on it as he entered the house.

Once inside, the first thing Dan did was take off his black school shoes and peel off his socks. He made a mental note to throw those in the laundry later.

After that, Dan ran to his room to change into his swim trunks. He dug around in his wardrobe until he found his trunks. He hadn’t worn them since last summer so he hoped they still fit.

Dan quickly changed into his orange and black striped trunks and a pair of blue flip flops. Right when he was about to open his door and head to the pool, he made a last-minute decision to grab a thin t-shirt out of his dresser. You know. Just in case someone from school saw him.

Once fully dressed in his swimming apparel, Dan grabbed a towel and checked his hair in the mirror before making his way to the pool.

Dan arrived pretty quickly. It was almost empty when he got there, save for two toddlers splashing around in the shallow end and a woman on a pool floaty. Dan was looking for a chair to set his towel on when he heard someone shout.

“Hey!”

Dan turned around and saw a boy he didn’t recognize running towards him. Had the pool area been more crowded, Dan would have thought he was calling for someone else.

“Hey?” Dan responded.

“You look lost. Is this your first time here?” the boy asked. He had a wide, friendly smile on his face and short nicely kept black hair.

“Uh, no. I just haven’t been here since I was little,” Dan said.

“Hmm,” the boy hummed. “Well, I’m Phil.”

“Oh, uh, nice to meet you. I’m Dan,” Dan said awkwardly.

The two boys just kind of stood there in silence for a moment when Dan noticed Phil’s clothes. A white button-down shirt, similar to Dan’s school uniform, tucked into black pants. He also wore the signature dark green and gold tie that signified he’s a student at Wormon academy.

It was a prestigious school; many wealthy families enrolled their kids there but there was a handful of kids that were able to go for free based on their academics.

Dan’s father always said he could go there “if you just applied yourself, Daniel” but Dan wasn’t so sure he would even want to go there anyway. There were many days where Dan’s brain felt like it was at war with itself, where his whole body felt heavy and his entire being felt meaningless. Dan knew he could never go to a school with such high academic expectations and manage those days at the same time. There was no way. Not to mention all the rich kids that would surely bully him ruthlessly.

Dan shook his head to clear himself of those thoughts and decided to continue his conversation with Phil instead.

“So, you go to Wormon?” Dan asked.

“Yeah. What about you?”

“I go to Green Meadow,” Dan said.

“Nice,” Phil replied.

“Yeah…” Dan trailed off. “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you fully clothed at a swimming pool?”

“Wh- oh!” Phil exclaimed, looking down at his uniform. Dan chuckled.

“My brother’s a lifeguard here. He asked me to come and keep him company after school,” Phil explained.

“Ah,” Dan replied. He looked behind Phil and saw a man a few years older than him sitting high up on a chair. He was watching over the few people occupying the pool with a bored expression on his face.

He was shirtless; the only article of clothing he had on was a pair of red swim trunks. Dan had to hand it to him, he was fit. If Phil was anything like him… no. Absolutely not.

Dan always had a strong grip on those thoughts. He only allowed his mind to wander there late at night when he could play it off as simple exhaustion. But now?

_I’m not attracted to men,_  Dan thought to himself.  _I’m just… jealous of their bodies because of all the years I’ve been teased and been called fat. Yeah. That’s it._

Dan was ripped from his thoughts when he heard Phil yell an enthusiastic, “Hey, Martyn!”

Martyn looked in their direction but didn’t seem as enthused about Phil’s new-found friend as Phil was. Nevertheless, he nodded at the two of them before turning back to his lifeguard duties.

“No offence, but you don’t really look that similar,” Dan said.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. That’s probably because I dye my hair black,” Phil explained.

“Really? That’s cool. It looks quite nice.”

“Thanks! I’ve always wanted long hair like yours, but my parents made me choose between dying it and growing it out, so I chose the dye” Phil said.

“Oh, I see,” Dan replied. “What’s your natural hair color, then?”

Phil laughed then leaned close to Dan even though there wasn’t really anyone else around. He then whispered, “I’m a ginger. Trust me, it’s not a good look.”

Dan and Phil both broke out into a fit of laughter. Dan had to admit, Phil’s laugh could light up a room.

After their giggles died out, Phil asked, “Isn’t it technically school hours for Green Meadow right now?”

“Yeah, but I, uh. Well, it’s the last day so I just decided to skip,” Dan confessed.

“Really?” Phil asked, raising an eyebrow. “Do that often?”

“No, not really,” Dan replied.

“Well then, rebel boy. Since you have nothing else to do, want to walk me to my house so I can get my swim trunks? Maybe we could go for a swim together.”

“Oh. Uh... yeah, sure.” Dan was certain his face was bright red.

“Great! Let’s go then,” Phil said with a smile. He waved goodbye to Martyn before unhooking the metal pool gate door, holding it open for Dan.

“Thanks,” Dan said.

This was going to be an interesting day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reblogging my fics on [Tumblr](www.farquaadphillywrites.tumblr.com) helps them get discovered, comments help me stay motivated and kudos make me smile <3


	3. Homo-erotic Peach Cutting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for a bit of internalized homophobia in this chapter. you can always message me on tumblr (@/farquaadphilly or @/farquaadphillywrites) if you have questions about triggers!

It was nice to see that Phil’s neighborhood was similar to Dan’s. There were one-story houses lined up along both sides of the street, most with pink roses or yellow tulips planted outside.

The boys talked more about school as they walked to Phil’s house. Phil was personable and easy to talk to, which surprised Dan. Every time Dan would run out of things to say, Phil would pick the conversation right back up with a story about his strange classmates or crazy neighbors.

“This is it,” Phil said as he and Dan approached a cute white house. There were red tulips planted outside to match the dark red trim of the house.

“It’s nice,” Dan replied.

“Thanks! I bet yours is nice, too. Maybe I could come over one day?” Phil asked before quickly adding, “Unless you don’t want me to or you’re too busy.”

He had a bit of a blush on his cheeks and Dan had to admit it was endearing to see him stumble over his words.

“I think that can be arranged,” Dan said, smiling at Phil. Phil smiled back, bright and beaming, then unlocked the front door of his house and beckoned Dan inside.

The inside of the house wasn’t quite as cute as the outside.

The interior decorating was nice; family portraits were hung along the walls, everything was dusted off and cleaned nicely. The decorations weren’t the problem, really. It was more that the house had basically the same structure of the hotel from The Shining.

From the outside, the front door didn’t look all that scary, but from the inside, the dimly lit black wood frame was more than enough to creep Dan out.

“Do you want some water? Of course you do, it’s like a million degrees out. Come with me to the kitchen,” Phil interrupted Dan’s train of thought. It was cute how hard Phil was trying to be a good host. Dan just chuckled quietly and followed Phil into the kitchen.

Dan sat down at the small table while Phil grabbed two glasses from a cupboard and then opened the freezer to get ice cubes out of the tray. As he was putting the ice into the cups, he noticed Dan looking at the large arched window facing the backyard.

“Isn’t that, like, the scariest window you’ve ever seen?” Phil asked with a laugh.

“Huh? Oh, sorry,” Dan looked down and felt his face get hot, not wanting to be rude or insult Phil the first time he visited his house.

Phil poured some water from the tap into the cups and carefully slid one over to Dan. “It’s alright. It’s great for Halloween.”

“It does give off a bit of a ‘Shining’ vibe, not gonna lie,” Dan said.

“Oh my god! You’re so right!” Phil exclaimed, causing Dan to laugh.

“You like horror then?” Dan asked.

“In general? Yeah. But I especially love Stephen King,” Phil explained, leaning against the counter.

“That’s really cool. I, for one, get scared pretty easily.” Dan replied.

“Oh my gosh I’m so terrible!” Phil exclaimed suddenly, derailing the conversation completely. “I didn’t even offer you any biscuits or anything. You probably haven’t eaten since lunch at school, right?”

“Yeah but it’s fine. I’m fine, really,” Dan said. Phil had already been very hospitable, if not a little forward at first, and Dan wasn’t used to being the center of someone’s attention like this.

“Nonsense. Here, follow me,” Phil insisted. He set his water down on the kitchen table and opened the sliding glass door out to the backyard.

“We’re going outside for food?” Dan asked amusedly, standing up and leaving his water on the table.

“Just trust me,” Phil said.

Dan was quiet after that, following Phil outside and looking around the backyard. It was by no means huge, but it was pretty big. Dan noticed two large trees supporting a hammock next to a small table. Dan was admiring the freshly cut grass when he bumped into Phil.

“Sorry, I should have warned you I was stopping,” Phil squeaked when Dan let out a little ‘oof.’

“It’s alright,” Dan said. He turned his gaze up and saw Phil reaching forward to pick a peach from a tree.

“My dad bought this from a farmer’s market forever ago. He didn’t know what it was, just thought it was a cute little sprout, until years later when it started blossoming,” Phil explained.

“That’s actually really cool. Are the peaches any good?”

“The best,” Phil said, tossing the peach from hand to hand. “Race you back inside?”

“You’re on,” Dan smirked and took off running.

Once back inside, Dan was embarrassingly sweaty and out of breath from such a short run, but at least he beat Phil. Phil pouted about his loss but didn’t seem to mind Dan’s sweatiness too much, which Dan was grateful for. Soon Phil was opening a drawer and pulling out a cutting board and a large knife.

"Have you ever cut a peach before?" Phil asked.

"Can't say that I have,” Dan replied.

"Come over here and I'll teach you," said Phil, motioning to the counter with the hand that held the knife.

"Don't wave the knife around like that! You'll cut my bloody ear off!" Dan scolded while Phil giggled.

"Sorry, sorry," Phil said between laughs.

They repositioned themselves so that Dan was close to the counter, knife in his right hand and peach on the cutting board in front of him.

"I'm left-handed, you know," Dan deadpanned. Even though he had taught himself to cut things the right-handed way, he still found it fun to tease Phil.

"Shush, I'm teaching you things," Phil replied. He then stationed himself behind Dan and carefully placed his hand over Dan's.

"Now," Phil began and Dan nearly fainted at how close Phil was, how he could feel his body heat and the slight vibration of his voice where Phil's chest was pressed to his back. Phil was speaking close to Dan's ear but made sure to keep his voice soft and quiet so he didn’t hurt Dan’s ears.

"Bring your knife over to the peach," Phil said. He directed Dan's hand so that the knife was now resting on top of the peach and Dan let it happen pliantly.

"Press down a bit until the knife hits the pit but don't start fully cutting it yet," Phil explained, putting a little pressure onto Dan's hand just to show.

Dan did what Phil asked and felt the knife slowly sink into the soft peach. It was only then that Dan realized how their hands were touching, how Phil's paler one was practically draped over his own. He could only imagine how intimate this must look, what someone would think if they walked in.

The thought almost made Dan want to curl up in shame, want to push Phil away and run home and never leave his room again.

"Next step," Phil said, breaking Dan's thoughts. "Slowly rotate the peach with your left hand and keep cutting down to the pit with your right."

Dan started to do as Phil instructed, but it was hard. Dan would blame the shakiness of his hands on the fact the knife was going dangerously close to his fingers and not the fact that Phil was pressed so close to him.

"This is hard," Dan whined, mostly just to change his line of thought.

"Yeah, sorry, this is probably silly. I can just do it if you want," Phil said, sounding genuinely upset with himself and pulling away slightly.

"No!" Dan squeaked, using the hand that wasn't holding the knife to grab onto Phil's wrist.

Phil gave Dan a puzzled look but stepped forward anyway, not exactly in the same place he was before but a little bit closer nonetheless.

"It's just, uh..." Dan's hands were starting to sweat. "You never know when the zombie apocalypse is going to hit and this right here might just be the difference between life and death."

Luckily, Dan's on-the-fly joke earned him a bright smile from Phil, who moved to once again practically envelope Dan's body with his own.

"You're doing really good. Just keep rotating it like you were," Phil said and Dan smiled.

"Now what?" Dan asked once there was a nice line going completely around the peach.

"Now," Phil said, "you twist the two halves so that they separate."

Dan began twisting the halves in opposite directions until they came apart.

"Like that?"

"Just like that."

"Not gonna lie, I feel pretty proud of myself," Dan said.

"You should! Pick the side you want and hand me the other one."

Dan picked the side with the pit and handed Phil the other one. They both quickly sunk their teeth into the fruit and Dan groaned as he started chewing.

"This is so good. It might actually convince me to try eating healthy," Dan said once he was done with his first bite.

"Mhmm. Me too," Phil replied, his mouth still full.

The boys then sat down at the kitchen table and finished their peach halves and cups of water. When they were finished, Phil got up from the table.

"I guess I should probably go get changed now. I'll just be a second and then we can go," Phil said.

"Take as long as you need," Dan said in response. Phil quickly darted toward his room and Dan was left to his own thoughts about what had just happened.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading! I'm very sorry for falling behind on my upload schedule already but thanks for sticking with me! if you'd like to reblog this chapter on tumblr, you can do so [here.](https://farquaadphillywrites.tumblr.com/post/185847675960/summer-sweetheart-spare-a-little-love-for-me)


	4. I Donut Know What to Make of This

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for a bit of body image issues!!

Dan made a point not to look at Phil’s bare chest when he came out of his room clad in nothing but his swim trunks and some sandals. He kept his eyes on the pavement the entire walk over to the pool as well. For Phil’s sake, of course. So he wouldn’t be uncomfortable. That’s why.

“So,” Phil said as he and Dan walked side by side on the pavement. “You work?”

“Oh, no. I might like to, though. It would be nice to earn some of my own money. What about you?”

“I work over at Cravings. You know, the ice cream parlor?”

“Of course I do! Their ice cream is so good. It must be fun to work there,” Dan said.

“Yeah, it’s the only building with aircon on the whole block,” Phil joked.

“Do you get to eat ice cream when nobody’s looking?” Dan asked, lowering his voice as if they were talking about something truly scandalous.

Phil laughed loudly at that. “Not really. But, to be fair, I am lactose intolerant.”

Dan pouted. “It must suck to be surrounded by ice cream all day and not be able to eat any.”

“It’s not so bad. I sneak handfuls of rainbow sprinkles sometimes.”

“Oh, and  _I’m_  the rebellious one?” Dan teased.

“At least I don’t skip school!” shrieked Phil in defense.

Dan laughed and opened the gate to the pool, holding it for Phil.

“Thanks, rebel boy,” Phil said as he entered the pool. Dan grumbled something like ‘ _wow, still sticking with that incredibly creative name, Phil’?_ but his entire body flushed red at the nickname anyway.

“You could come by the ice cream shop one of these days. I might be able to let you sample some of the new flavors for free,” Phil said.

“I’m a simple man, Phil. If a situation has anything to do with food, I’m in,” Dan said, eliciting a laugh from Phil.

Dan and Phil found a chair in the shade for them to drape their towels over and they began taking off their flip flops. Dan hesitated, though, when it came time to take off his shirt. Phil was already shirtless and waiting patiently, so it really shouldn't be that big of a deal.

Still, Dan's stomach was pudgy and he was a little scared that Phil wouldn't look at him the same way afterwards. It had happened too many times before and Dan was really enjoying his time with Phil and he didn't want anything to ruin that.

"You okay?" Phil asked, his features soft and concerned.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Dan lied, making no move to remove his shirt.

Phil seemed to pick up on the shift in Dan's mood and was quick to try to cheer him up. "You know my brother has a key to the pool storage closet. I'm sure he'd let us dig around in there and see if we can find one of those blow up pool floaty things or something."

Dan smiled brightly at that. "Yeah, that would be good."

The fact that Phil would care enough to sense Dan's unease and try to make him more comfortable by changing the subject made Dan's heart swell. Even though he had just met Phil, Dan knew he was a kind person and this just proved that. Dan felt a little bit of the weight on his shoulders lift as he realized that Phil wouldn't judge him or make fun of him for his body.

Phil beckoned Dan to follow him across the pool area until they were close enough to have a conversation with Martyn.

"Hey, Martyn? Can we use your key to see if there are any blown up pool floats in the storage closet? Pleeease?"

Martyn sighed but tossed Phil a key ring anyway. "Don't pop a hole in any of them and make sure to put it back exactly where you found it."

"Sure thing. Thank you!" Phil said with an excited smile on his face.

The storage closet was a tiny little building attached to another tiny little building within the limits of the pool gate.

The door to the first building was unlocked so Phil just opened it and he and Dan shuffled inside. There was a table, some shelves, and one chair. The table had a paper bag surrounded by crisp wrappers and a half-full bottle of coke, which Dan assumed all belonged to Martyn. There were some books on the shelves and, upon reading the words on their spines, Dan noticed they were all about the rules of being a lifeguard and general safety.

Phil didn't seem to be too interested in the first room because soon he was unlocking the door that led to the storage closet.

"Aha!" Phil said, grabbing a large round floaty from the dim closet.

The first thing Dan noticed about it was that it was bright pink, almost bright enough to hurt his eyes. The colorful surface definitely didn't match Dan's aesthetic, but he appreciated it anyway.

"What's it supposed to be?" Dan asked, cocking his head to the side.

"A doughnut I think. Looks like it's already blown up so you can go get it set up in the pool if you want." Phil said to Dan, setting the inflatable doughnut on the floor before going back to rummaging through the closet.

"There's another floaty in here somewhere but it needs to be blown up so I'll have to try to find the air pump. It might be a while so you can go test yours out in the water if you want," Phil explained.

Dan was internally very grateful for this. Even though he knew Phil most likely wouldn’t say anything mean about his body, it was still nice to have the opportunity to take off his shirt without Phil right there to watch him.

"Alright. I'll let you know if I get eaten by sharks out there," Dan joked. Phil made a growling shark noise in response and Dan laughed before dragging the doughnut out of the closet.

Once Dan brought the doughnut all the way over to where the towels and their flip flops were, Dan took off his shirt.

_Phil is nice. He cares. He won't judge you_ , Dan reminded himself as he chucked his shirt onto a chair.

He then carried the doughnut over to the side of the pool and tossed it in before doing a cannonball and splashing into the water.

Eventually, Dan managed to situate himself on top of the floaty. It was nice. Serene. The warm breeze blew just enough that the water lapped against the concrete edge of the pool, creating gentle waves and a calming sound.

The doughnut was large enough that Dan was able to curl up comfortably on top of it. Even though Dan was extremely tall and had long limbs, the floaty made Dan feel small and safe. He was just so content and at peace that he couldn't help but sigh gently and close his eyes. He wasn't really  _asleep,_  but it was relaxing nonetheless.

Dan opened his eyes when he heard Phil say "Awww." Normally, he would be embarrassed but Phil was smiling at him so fondly with his tongue between his teeth that he forgot to care.

"Where's the other pool float?" Dan asked upon seeing Phil standing there empty-handed.

"The air pump wouldn't work," Phil replied.

"Oh. That's okay, we can just share the doughnut," Dan said a little too quickly.

"Yeah," Phil said with a quick smile before jumping into the pool.

When Phil resurfaced, he and Dan both broke out into a fit of laughter.

"Scooch over so there's room for me to sit," Phil said, motioning to the doughnut.

Dan did as he was asked and soon Phil was clambering onto the pool toy and situating himself next to Dan.

"Hi," Dan said amusedly.

"Hi," Phil responded.

"I bet you're not so jealous of my long emo hair now that it's all wet, are you, Phil?" Dan joked.

Phil hummed, cocking his own head to the side and bringing his hand up to tuck a strand of Dan's hair behind his ear. "I think it still looks really good."

Dan didn't know when Phil's voice had gotten to that raspy tone between talking and whispering but it made Dan let out a shuddery breath.

"Thanks.”

“No problem, rebel boy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still think about that picture of Dan in the doughnut pool floaty every day.  
> kudos & comments make my entire week and reblogs on tumblr help me out a lot. you can click [here](https://farquaadphillywrites.tumblr.com/post/185888917000/summer-sweetheart-spare-a-little-love-for-me) to reblog this chapter on tumblr. next update should be on Saturday and after that I hope I can get back on track with my upload schedule.


	5. Phone Numbers & Mario Kart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I really didn't know what to title this one and it's kind of boring sorry I promise the plot picks up soon!

Dan and Phil spent a few hours splashing around in the pool and sharing the inflatable doughnut until Martyn announced that the pool was closing for the day.

At this point, Dan fully expected the Lester brothers to ditch him, but - to his surprise - Phil suggested Dan stay for dinner at his house.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to overstep," Dan said.

"Of course I'm sure! My mum loves guests so it'll be fun," Phil assured.

Before Dan could respond, Martyn was opening the pool gate and ushering Dan and Phil outside. They had already collected their towels and put their shirts back on and were ready to go.

"Do you think your mum would let you stay for dinner? Cause if she won't or if you have other plans, I get it," Phil said, a rare look of insecurity flashing across his face.

"Let me call her and I'll ask," Dan said, giving Phil a quick smile before fishing his cell phone out of his pocket.

"You know what this makes me realize?" Phil says conversationally as the group began walking in the direction of Phil's house.

"Hmm?" Dan replied.

"We don't have each other's numbers," Phil said.

Dan tried to ignore the way his heart rate sped up at Phil's suggestion. The only thing Dan was more ashamed of than being 17 years old and still getting this excited over exchanging numbers with someone was the fact that he was 17 years old and getting this excited over exchanging numbers with a boy.

"Dan? You alright? We don't have to, it was just an idea," Phil said.

"Sorry! I just got lost in thought there. Of course I want to, especially if this means I get to take you up on your offer of free ice cream samples," Dan said. He handed his phone to Phil.

"There you go," Phil said once he put his number in. "Text me so I can save your number to my phone."

As he did this, Dan realized he had 4 missed texts from his mother.

Mum: Your school called and said you weren't in your last few classes. Where are you?

Mum: I'm not mad. Please call or text me when you get this.

Mum: Be safe.

Mum: I know it's your last day of school and I'm sure you're having fun but I'm getting worried. Please call.

"Shit," Dan mumbled under his breath.

"You okay?" Phil asked.

"Yeah," Dan said distractedly as he dialled his mother's number. She answered on the first ring.

"Dan, are you okay?" she asked, concern clear in her voice.

"I'm okay. I'm really sorry, mum. I went swimming so I was away from my phone for a while," Dan explained.

"You should have checked in, Daniel."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"You're forgiven. I'm just glad you're okay. Please try to be more responsible next time, though."

"I will," Dan promised. "Are you mad at me for skipping class?"

"I did much more rebellious things at your age than skipping class on the last day of school. As long as you didn't hurt yourself or anybody else, I'm not mad," she said.

"Thanks, mum."

"I don't want to see it happen again, though. Understand?" she replied, sterner this time.

"I understand," said Dan.

Phil giggled upon hearing Dan say this, knowing that he was probably getting scolded by his mother. Dan stuck his tongue out at Phil but he couldn't hide the smile on his face.

"I met a friend at the pool. Can I stay over at his house for dinner?" Dan asked.

"Will his parents be there?" Dan's mum asked.

"Yes."

"Will there be other kids? Is it a party?"

"No, just Phil and his brother. And me, maybe," Dan told her, his voice edging on hopeful.

Dan heard his mum sigh on the other side of the line. "You can go, but please be careful and don't forget to check in. And be home before 10 please."

"I will. Thank you so much, mum," Dan said. He smiled widely at Phil as if to convey the good news.

"You're welcome, Dan. I’m glad to see you making friends. I love you."

"Love you, too," Dan said before hanging up the phone.

"We're good to go?" Phil asked.

"We're good to go," Dan confirmed.

Martyn chuckled fondly from where he was walking behind the two younger boys, but Dan didn't care. He was just excited to meet Phil's parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Lester weren't home by the time Phil, Martyn, and Dan got to the house so Dan and Phil would have some time to relax alone before dinner.

"You can take a shower to rinse off the chlorine if you want," Phil told Dan.

Dan did feel a bit awkward at the thought of showering at someone else's house, but the smell of chemicals on his hair and skin was enough to make Dan agree to Phil's offer.

Phil led Dan to the bathroom and showed him how to turn on the water and adjust the temperature.

"Thanks," Dan said once Phil was done explaining.

"No problem. And even though I think your curly hair looks cute, there's a straightener under the sink if you feel like using it," said Phil.

"I look like a hobbit," Dan mumbled, ignoring the way Phil's compliment made his face flush.

Phil laughed at that. "I'll let you get to it now. Let me know if you need anything."

With that, Phil was leaving the bathroom and shutting the door behind Dan. He turned on the shower and then stripped himself of his clothes. Once the shower was warm enough, Dan stepped inside.

Dan washed off quickly, not wanting to leave Phil waiting for too long. He did, however, take Phil up on his offer to use the hair straightener after a few minutes of rifling through the cabinets.

Once Dan got dressed, he left the bathroom and started walking in the direction of Phil's room. When he got there, he found the door was open and Phil was sitting on the floor playing a round of Mario Kart.

"Getting practice without me?" Dan asked, lingering in the doorway.

Phil turned towards Dan with a smile on his face. "Not sure it counts as practice if I'm in last place.

Dan laughed. "Beating you is going to be easier than I thought, then."

Phil just smiled with his tongue between is teeth and handed the other controller to Dan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos and comments make me happy, reblogs on [tumblr](https://farquaadphillywrites.tumblr.com/post/186125698965/summer-sweetheart-spare-a-little-love-for-me) help other people discover my work, y'all know the drill by now. ily all so much, thanks for sticking with me and this story!

**Author's Note:**

> Updates every Saturday! You can also read and reblog this on my [tumblr.](www.farquaadphillywrites.tumblr.com)


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